Black and White
by SepticMind
Summary: People's actions can't always be painted as black and white. Raven's always understood that. But when a certain anti-hero turns to her for help, she begins to understand the best decision isn't always the right one.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N****: What's this? My first fanfic that isn't Rae/Jinx? (Lies. I have a BB/Rae fic that's over 120 pages hanging around my room somewhere) So yeah, I haven't read many Red X fan fics, so I don't know how my interpretation is going to compare to other peoples (those who read my stuff will know I like to incorporate the comics, hint hint.) Still, hope you enjoy it, and a few critical reviews wouldn't go amiss ;)**

**Oh, and once again, thanks Concolor for acting as a beta for this thing :)**

* * *

Most people, especially those that live outside the city, think of the night as a time of silence and peace. Raven had too, before she left Azarath for Jump City. Now, as she flew between the tall buildings that were commonplace at the centre of the city, her sensitive ears were assaulted with the sounds of traffic, police sirens, pounding music from the city's various bars and clubs, and the laughter of people determined to enjoy their Saturday night.

Due to their keen night vision, Beast Boy and the empath typically got to cover the late patrol shifts on Friday and Saturday. Not that they usually had much activity from the city's major criminals during those two nights, the busy streets and constant police patrols harbouring too many chances of being seen and interrupted. But it was a gold mine for pick pockets and petty theft. Add in the occasional drunken brawl, and the police needed all the extra help they could get.

Not that Raven minded. The patrol was usually calm and un-taxing; scanning the crowds, the empath could easily pick out the emotional signs of a fight before it had happened, and walking past at street level, or flying low enough to be easily seen, was usually enough to ensure that there was no fight. Any fight that was happening below on the street was easily pulled apart with a small show of her soul self. It was amazing how the sight of a Titan could sober most people up. It was a welcome change of pace after a week of fighting meta-humans and guys with overpowered gadgets.

Content that the block was free of anything that demanded her attention, she moved to the next one on her route, picking a perch on top of one of the buildings, her feet hanging over the edge of the roof as she watched the street below her. This one was busier than the last, the sidewalk almost overflowing with women in heels too high and dress to short, and men shouting back at forth at friends or particularly scantily dressed women.

There were two casinos on this street – both of which were carefully monitored by Robin in order to prevent any crime lords setting up shop – four clubs, seven bars, and one 'gentleman's club'. It was a street she passed by several times on her patrol due to its popularity.

She watched with a disturbed frown as a woman moved to throw up in one of the street's gutters, a friend standing by her as passersby laughed and stared. Raven couldn't quite understand how a night of poisoning yourself with alcohol could be considered as anyone's idea of 'fun'. The loss of control over your emotional state, and the morning hangover she knew that came the day after from occasionally witnessing her team mates after the parties various Titans sometimes organised had been enough to put her off even trying alcohol.

She kept her eyes on the inebriated woman until the stranger's friend shoved her into a taxi that pulled up, getting in after her. There were more dangers than pick pockets and fights, particularly for someone intoxicated past reason, and more than once she'd had to step between a drunk and their possible harasser. She went back to scanning the crowd, snapping to attention when she caught sight of someone moving down the street almost at a run, her eyes snapping to the man as he shoved his way through the crowded sidewalk. She could feel his tension, and the way he kept glancing behind him told her that, whoever he was, he was up to no good.

As she looked up, ready to drop from the roof top, she saw someone's silhouette run across the tops of the buildings across from her, executing a perfect somersault as he leaped over the gap between two buildings, his gaze fixed on the streets when he wasn't looking ahead. Her first thought was that it was Robin, her eyes picking up what appeared to be a cape being pulled out behind him, until she remembered he had no reason to be out tonight. If there was a situation that had caught the Titans' attention, her communicator would have gone off. Dropping from the edge of the roof, she pursued him, not sure what to make of it.

The man on the ground picked up his speed as he turned onto an almost empty street before ducking into an alleyway out of Raven's sight. She silently cursed as the person travelling across the rooftops dropped down off the edge of a building, into the alleyway the man had run down. She picked up speed, coming to a stop as she hovered over the alleyway, her eyes widening as she watched one of the figures hold the other up against the wall by his neck. As she started to descend, she made a pushing motion with her hands, her eyes flashing white as a sheet of dark energy smashed into the aggressor, knocking him aside, away from the figure against the wall.

The man dropped and stumbled as he made a painful gasping noise, pushing to his feet as Raven's boots touched the broken pavement, and made a run for it back out the alley. She heard the other person get to his feet, and turned to find Red X running towards her. She started to bring up her hands, ready to attack or defend herself, but the thief shoved her aside as he chased after the man who had fled.

Red X stopped at the entrance to the alleyway, cursing loudly as he looked up and down the street to find it empty. As Raven recovered from her surprise, she walked towards him, her arm pointing towards one of the dumpsters sat against the walls.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She moved her arm forward, towards Red X, and the dumpster flew through the air towards the thief.

Having heard her mantra, Red X ducked, only just missing the large projectile as it skinned the top of his head and hit the road behind him with a loud crash. Turning to face the Titan, he pushed forward into a sprint as he saw her motioning towards something else, managing to yank the young woman's hood over her eyes before he tripped her up.

"Sorry Sunshine, but I don't have time to fight you tonight."

He moved towards a nearby fire escape and leapt up, only managing to climb several rungs before the ladder came loose from the wall and fell. Landing on his back, Red X tilted his head back to look at Raven in time to see the white light that usually accompanied the use of her powers leave her amethyst eyes.

"My name is _Raven_."

Seeing something move towards him out the corner of his eyes, he quickly rolled, a trashcan hitting the floor where he had been.

"Not that this hasn't been lovely, but I really _don't _have time for this." Red X leapt to his feet before throwing one of his X's, the unusual projectile created by the man's stolen xenothium powered suit expanding as it made its way towards the heroine, the centre of the projectile hitting Raven's sternum and pushed her back into the alley wall, where she stuck despite her attempts to escape, her feet hanging just above the alley floor and arms trapped by her side.

She raised her feet up and tried to push off against the wall as she squirmed, before looking up to glare at Red X. "Let me down. _Now_."

"So you can attempt to beat my ass while I'm meant to be after some other guy's ass? No can do. Don't worry; I'll let Bird Boy know where you are."

Her expression darkened, and the thief suddenly found himself airborne. He hit the wall behind him, dropped to his hands and knees, somewhat startled by the attack. "_Now._" She repeated, her voice almost a growl.

He stared at the empath for a moment, before getting to his feet and dusting his suit down. He'd picked up quite a lot about each individual Titan during his time fighting against them, and on occasion alongside them. He didn't have to be a mind reader to know the empath would find nothing more embarrassing than having to be 'rescued' by one of her team mates. It was an embarrassment he would share if he ever had to have help getting out of such a situation. He walked over to her, and pulled a small canister off his utility belt. "You owe me one."

"For letting me out of a trap you put me in? I don't think so." Raven frowned as the thief sprayed the large X that was keeping her stuck to the wall with whatever was in the can.

He stepped back, the emotionless skull mask disturbing Raven slightly, covering the smile she was certain he was wearing. "Don't think about following me. That stuff should take about five minutes to work." He saluted her as he backed up. "See you around, Sunshine."

Raven watched him leave the alley, before she tried to throw her body weight forward, eyes narrowing with determination as she heard the sticky substance pull away from the wall, giving her a small amount of room for movement. She pulled forward again, this time planting her feet against the wall to give her better leverage, determined to catch up with Red X.

She could feel the strange substance begin to dig into her skin where it cut across her ribs but didn't let it put her off as she continued to lean forward, pushing off from the wall. At that moment she couldn't care less about whoever he was after, focused only on finding the thief and giving him a taste of his own medicine.

The red substance gave way a little more, before completely coming away from the wall, dumping the surprised empath onto the alley floor. She got to her feet and carefully pulled the X away from the fabric of her leotard before dropping it onto the floor and levitating, gaining height until she could see across most of the roof tops within her view, scanning each one for the shadow of Red X, unsurprised but no less irritated when she came up empty. He'd always had an infuriating habit of being elusive.

Moving back to the street she'd been watching before she'd caught sight of the thief and whoever he'd been chasing, she continued her patrol route with a permanent frown etched into her face, harbouring almost no attention for the civilians of the streets below as she kept an eye out for the masked anti-hero.

* * *

Feeling more anger than he had in a long time, Red X didn't wait long after leaving the Titan to take to the rooftops again, knowing he stood a better chance of finding his target up there than he did down on the streets. Of course, the bastard could have gone anywhere in the time it had taken him to deal with Raven.

"Of all the times for one of the Titans to show up." Red X muttered, before smiling slightly. _Of course, I'd take her company over Robin's any time._

Quickly jumping across from one building to the next, he kept his eyes glued to the streets and alleyways, looking out for the slightest bit of movement. He wasn't expecting the man to have run too far, probably thinking he was safe from both the anti-hero and the Titan. He slowed his pace to a walk as he considered the irritating possibility that he'd lost the man. After all, Red X would have no way of telling if he'd ducked into a building. Coming to a stop, he gazed over the edge of the roof at what looked like some sort of loading bay, his eyes narrowing slightly as someone entered the space at a slow jog, the man glancing back over his shoulder before moving forward.

The thief crouched down as he tried to get a better look at the person, head tilted slightly to the side, not sure whether to believe his luck or not. The man paused in front of two large loading bay doors and looked around again before pushing them open, the amount of noise they made informing Red X that they hadn't been used in a while. He glanced around from his perch on the edge of the roof, realising with a frown that he wasn't completely sure where in the city they were, having moved with little thought on where he was going. He waited until the man had entered the building and reclosed the doors before turning and stepping backwards off the edge of the building, falling for a moment before he grabbed hold of a passing windowsill to halt his decent, pushing off from the wall slightly so he moved away from the building as he dropped the last few feet, narrowly missing the fence that cut between the two properties as he landed in a crouch.

Straightening up, he turned and moved towards the two large doors, studying them for a moment, before easing along the wall until he found a broken window large enough for him to squeeze through, wanting to keep the element of surprise that he had. Red X picked the last few shards of glass out of the frame before he climbed through, scanning the room around him.

It was some sort of storage room, though nothing much remained other than a few empty boxes, confirming his suspicions that the building had been abandoned. He moved to open the door leading out of the small room, walking out in a crouch and sticking close to the wall when he saw how large the area was, unhappy about the amount of old equipment still laying around. It wouldn't make his job any easier, especially if the man had come here in an attempt to hide.

An old, rusting conveyor belt stuck out from the wall he had been following, cutting off his path. Red X slowly stood to his full height, his eyes still moving back and forth across the room. He saw a shadow flit across one of the windows of light that hit the back wall and moved forward as quietly as he could while keeping a good amount of speed, easily jumping over the conveyor belt that twisted its way through the room, dodging the boxes and broken bits of machinery that littered the rest of the floor.

He knew he was catching up with the man when the sound of his target's footsteps became louder. Red X picked up his pace, no longer worried about how much noise he was making, confident the man couldn't out run him. He skidded around a corner and his target came into sight, only a couple of feet in front of him. Throwing his hand forward, the palm of his hand glowed red in the shape of an X before a projectile similar to the one he'd thrown at the Titan sped forward, hitting its target with frightening accuracy.

With no wall to catch him, the man toppled forward from the force of the attack, sticking to the floor face down. Red X slowed to a walk as he closed the distance between them, crouching next to the man before grabbing a fistful of his dirty blonde curls and turning his head so the man was looking at him.

"W-what do you want?"

"We have a slight dilemma." Red X told him, amused at how the man boggled at his skull mask. "That shipment your boss had you and your friends intercept _wasn't _yours to intercept. You're lucky I hadn't got any deals lined up with anyone. So, next time you see your boss, Bob, let him know, an' we might be able to clear this up. No hard feelings an' all that."

"Aint nothin' to clear up." The man replied. "You against all of us?" He didn't see the young man's eyes narrow behind his mask.

"Well, if you'd prefer to do it the _fun _way, feel free to tell me where you guys have set up base."

"What do you think I am? Stupid?"

The thief decided not to answer, instead reaching into the man's coat pocket and pulling out a semi-automatic pistol. He'd seen the bulge in the man's jacket the moment he'd started following him, and hadn't had any illusions about what he was carrying. He pretended to study it, carefully placing a small tracer on the butt of the gun.

"9mm huh? You must have small hands, Bob. Or maybe you just didn't feel the need to pack anything bigger." He ejected the magazine and counted the number of bullets. "You carrying one in the barrel? You can't be a real thug if you're not carrying one in the barrel." When the man didn't reply, he slid the magazine back into place and checked the safety was on before putting it back in the guy's coat pocket. "You know, I think you're the first I've come across here carrying a good, old fashioned firearm." Red X stood up and stepped back from the man. "I'm just gonna leave you there. Someone'll probably find you, an' if not that'll wear off eventually." He motioned towards the large red X keeping him flattened to the floor. "See you around, Bob."

The thief quickly left the building, moving to sit on the roof for a moment while he checked that the tracker beacon was working, reaching for a small grey device on his belt and turning it on, smiling slightly when a red dot blinked at him, giving him a position on the city's blueprints that showed on the screen.


	2. Chapter 2

UPDATED CHAPTER POST (please read footnote) (My beta finally got round to looking at it for me!)

**Reviews:**

**Juniper Night: **Cool... so what happens next? :)

_You'll find you :P_

**Angelic Toaster: **Awesome! This looks really promising, I can't wait for more!

_Glad you think so!_

**MyAngelsHalo: **Ahh! I love it. Been waiting for a new, well written, RavenxRedX story. Hope  
you update soon!

_Ahah glad you do - Red X isn't usually a character I write with much._

**Concolor44: **Just a little question (and I have the same question for the writers of the cartoon and for just about every other author who has taken a stab at Rae/RedX fics): How come Raven didn't just phase out of the trap? She can melt through walls, emerge from the ground, teleport long distances. Why didn't she? Does the 'X' temporarily block that ability, sort of like Ding Dong Daddy's neutralizer ray? I haven't heard that explained anywhere, and it kind of bothers me.  
That being said ... I LOVE your interpretation of Red X! He's real and he's here. And he is Not To Be Messed With.  
Looking forward eagerly to the rest of this story.

_Well MY reason is because if it's sticky enough to KEEP her there, she's either going to have to teleport with the building, or loose some clothes xD Glad you like it though._

**discb: **This looks like it will b funn.

_Hmm_

**TehMaskedWarrior: **Ah... I love RedX... Lovely story! Keep It Up.

_I like him too - hence why I'm attempting this._

**Ranger of the Forest: **Nice. I like a good Raven/Red-X story. Keep up the good work.  
Ranger of the Forest.

_I will try to!_

**Dr Whitey: **Not going to lie, I was a bit hessentint to read this one. I tend to lean to Raven and Jinx as well so this was all question mark for me...unsuprising you have done quite well (saying that is was just "quite well" is simply because I dont read red X stuf...not my fav person to rear about. Think that it just becuse he was just never really fleshed out in the show but I dont know

_Everyone has their own tastes :) Perhaps you might learn to like X though :P_

* * *

Raven refilled the kettle before slamming it down with quite a bit of force, making sure the base was still plugged in before she switched it on and waited for the water to boil. She tried to focus on the task of preparing her tea, but she couldn't quite let go of her feelings of anger and irritation, her thoughts making her movements stiff and jerky as she yanked open a cupboard door and reached for one of her mugs. The common room doors opened and Robin walked into the room. It didn't take him long to figure out something was bothering the empath.

"How'd the patrol go?"

Raven glanced back at him a moment – the only indication she gave that told her leader she hadn't heard him enter the room – before going back to her tea, searching through another cupboard until she came across a box of white tea and jasmine. "For the most part, it was as uneventful as ever."

"But?"

"I ran into Red X."

"Red X?" Robin frowned, moving towards the kitchen. "Raven, why didn't you call for backup?"

"Because by the time I figured out it was him, it was a bit too late for that."

"What was he after?"

"I'm not sure." She leaned back against the kitchen counter, frowning at the air above Robin's right shoulder. "He was chasing someone."

"Who?"

She turned her frown onto her leader, quickly irritated by his questions. "It was a _chase_. I didn't exactly get a chance to stop him and ask for his life story."

Robin's brow twitched slightly, otherwise he ignored her remark. "Was he a civilian?"

Raven shrugged. "I think so. However I doubt he's a law abiding civilian. He was the one who attracted my attention in the first place, not Red X."

"Any idea why X was after him?"

"No. The man ran off while I was fighting Red X, then X escaped. Obviously _he _wasn't going to willingly part with any information or explanations. He seemed pretty insistent about catching this guy though."

"Some argument over territory, maybe?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe a deal that wasn't upheld. Red X is known for doing commissions. Maybe his …_client _didn't pay up?"

Her leader nodded. "It might not be anything; however I want you to keep an eye out for him on your patrols, and I'll tell the others to do the same. He might be up to something big."

"Big?" Raven asked sceptically. "Red X isn't exactly a schemer. He's just out for himself and the adrenaline rush that comes with being an idiot."

"Never underestimate the enemy."

"I'm not. He's a skilled fighter, and an even better thief, considering he managed to get the suit in the first place. But he isn't Slade. He's a talented thief, but that's all he is."

Robin sighed, crossing his arms as his face pulled down into a frown, leaning back against one of the cabinets. Raven used the moment of silence to fill her mug with water from the kettle. "How'd he lose you?"

"How do you think?" Raven muttered, avoiding looking at her leader as she put the kettle back in its place.

"He teleported?"

"No. I ran afoul of those weapons you so kindly gave him."_And then he let me go_. She glanced round, noticing the scowl on his face. "Sorry. I'm just – "

"– in a foul mood because X managed to give you the slip?" Robin interrupted.

"… Yeah."

"It irritates me too. I've wondered more than once if he's been trained by someone."

"I'm going to assume that 'someone' doesn't refer to a random person, but someone you know." She took a sip of her tea. "Are we talking super villain or …?"

"Someone I've trained with. Maybe even someone Batman's trained with." Robin answered after a moment's thought. "His fighting style just seemed … familiar."

"Would one of these people give us a list of names if we asked for it?"

"Probably not."

Raven smiled slightly. "Of course." She cleared her throat before adding, "About Batman … Rumour has it he's got a new side kick of sorts."

"Rumour? Or an eavesdropped video call?"

She had the grace to blush, her eyes dropping to stare at the mug in her hands, embarrassed. "It wasn't intentional. You were leaking emotion through the bond we share, and I had gone to check you were okay. In my defence, the door had been left open, and you weren't trying to be quiet. I left as soon as I realised, but..."

She didn't see Robin's small smile. " – you heard enough to figure out what was going on?"

Raven shrugged. "Well, I don't know about that …"

"How much did you hear?"

"That he wants you to consider changing your alias, and passing the title of Robin onto this kid he's currently training."

"What do you think?"

She looked up from her mug. "Excuse me?"

"What do you think? Should I put my days as the 'Boy Wonder' behind me?"

"I think you outlived those days a few years ago, as Starfire would surely be able to confirm." Raven smirked slightly.

Robin groaned quietly and shook his head in slight exasperation. "If I had wanted a joke for an answer, I would have gone to Beast Boy."

"My apologies." She took another sip of her drink before shrugging. "I don't really know what to say. On the one hand, passing the title down … The persona of Batman is a symbol of sorts no? His identity is unknown – to most – therefore he could be anyone, or more importantly anyone could be him. Were you not trained to take his place should it be needed so Batman would continue, even without the original man? Why shouldn't Robin be the same? But it is a personal decision to make. Robin has been half of who you are for many years now, if not most of your life so far. Could you just walk away from that?"

"That's not an answer. That's just regurgitating my own thoughts."

She smiled slightly. "Then speak with one of the others, but we can't make this decision for you."

"I forget how infuriating you can be. Would you drop the identity for a new one, in my position?"

"Why? Do you know any empathic, Demon Halflings with Trigon for a father looking for the job?"

"Just answer the question."

"No. I _can't_. I don't know what I'd do, because it isn't a situation I can relate to. I _am _Raven. Always was, and always will be. I don't have a life outside the Titans to protect."

"You're meant to be helping me out here. You're not doing a very good job."

"What do you want me to say? Ignore Batman; you keep being Robin because you had the name first? Keep it because it's your right to?"

"… No."

"Okay. So what if I said you should drop the name; burn the costume, and move on; give someone else a chance at being Robin. Would you listen to me? Of course not. Because it's not my place to tell you what you should or shouldn't do."

"You don't know that. I might listen."

Raven shook her head slightly and moved away from the counter. "I'm going to get some rest before all of Jump City's criminals decide it would be a perfect day to wake up early and attack the streets." She moved towards the door, but Robin called her back.

"Your honest opinion, Raven. I won't hold it against you. Or tell you to go stuff yourself."

She laughed slightly. "You don't want to hear my opinion."

"Say I did."

She glanced back at him. "Fine. Change the name, or don't. I couldn't care less – it has no impact upon myself. But even if you do keep Robin for your alias, consider redesigning your costume, will you? I can't say the style of 'traffic light' is particularly flattering for anyone. Or intimidating, for that matter."

"Was that a serious answer, or another attempt at a joke?"

Raven didn't answer, other than to smile at him, before she left the common room.

* * *

The empath quickly ducked, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder and see where the car landed, keeping her attention on their opponent instead. The past few years hadn't really changed Adam Parker. Otherwise known as Adonis, the young man was as skinny and arrogant as ever … once you peeled him out of his mechanical suits. His current suit had been updated from their last conflict. It was bigger than before, making the pathetic criminal tower over them all at a height of ten feet. The suit, in its customary colour of red, was too big for its own good, and made Adonis's movements slow and clumsy. Even so the titans were struggling to find the suit's weak spot, and until they had found it, getting Adam out of the suit was impossible without causing the man grievous harm.

Raven was starting to think she didn't care.

A green bull charged at the criminal as he slowly made his way over to another car. The attack was ineffective, and Beast Boy bounced back off the metal without even leaving a scratch. He shifted back into his human form as he came tumbling across the road, sitting up when he came to a stop and rubbing the top of his head.

They'd found him trying to break into the local mall. The fact that the idiot had tried to enter through a door too small for his suit meant many possible civilian casualties had been avoided, and also meant Adam was effectively trapped between the mall and the Titans. Not that he would have been able to _run _anywhere.

Raven stepped forward as Adonis reached for the car, her arms flying forward and dark energy encasing the vehicle. It stuck to the road when he tried to lift if from the ground, but it took a great effort on Raven's part. Angered, Adonis released the car, before bringing both his fists down onto it. Raven was forced back a few steps as the blow shattered the dark energy surrounding the car, and the criminal's fists continued down, going through the roof.

He tried to step back, but found himself stuck, the car coming with him. As he paused, puzzling over how to get the vehicle off him, a small red disk flew through the air towards them, the disk hitting the front of the car, and exploding. A moment later there was a second, larger explosion as something in the engine caught fire. A second disk froze the car, and one swing into the road from Adonis shattered it, freeing the car from his wrists. As he turned to face Robin, enraged, the Titans caught sight of his face. The only part of his body left unprotected, the flames from the car had reddened the left side of his face. The empath had expected as much to happen, and was still surprised over her leader's choice of disks. Unlike a lot of their opponents, Adam Parker was just human. That meant it was general practice to pull up short with their attacks.

Raven could feel the man's pain, and see his right brow twitching as he tried to ignore it. He pushed forward, moving towards Robin as fast as he could in the suit, bringing his right fist back when _CLASH!_

Cyborg was forced to retreat as part of the wrist cuffs to Adam's suit fell away from his arm onto the road. The loss of weight from his arm must have been significant, because he stumbled, thrown off balance. More of his suit crumbled away, and Raven realised what Robin had done. By igniting the car, he had warmed up part of the criminal's suit, and quickly freezing it after had caused the metal at the joints near his hands to expand and contract too quickly, cracking it. Now they just had to get the rest of the suit off.

Adonis hit the ground, the weight of the mechanical suit stopping him from being able to regain his balance, and Raven quickly acted, peeling the damaged metal around his wrist away from him and the rest of the suit with her dark energy. Starfire threw several starbolts at Adonis, Cyborg backing her up with his sonic cannon to keep the man on the ground as Beast Boy moved round, shifted into a T-Rex, and tried to pull away more of the metal with his teeth. The criminal swung his free arm and it pummelled into the green dinosaur, knocking him away.

Robin pulled out another freeze disk and moved so he had a good shot, before saying, "Give up Adonis."

He tried to sit up again, but Starfire flew down, putting her hands against the suit's breast-plate and keeping him down with her alien strength. "We can end this now, or we can injure you more, forcing you out of the suit. It is your choice."

Adam glared at Starfire and tried to hit her with his fist that remained protected, but Raven brought up a shield, deflecting the weak blow.

"Nobody can beat Adonis." He roared as he tried to struggle again.

"You look pretty beat to me." Cyborg replied, dulling down the force of his sonic cannon before aiming it at the man's unprotected face. "We could always knock you unconscious. Power down the suit, man. You're not gettin' out of this one."

The defiant scowl faded from Adam's face as he realised the truth of the Titan's words, and there was a hissing sound, like air had been released from a high pressure point before the front of the suit started to open. Starfire pulled back, letting the metal fold away, and the man tried to dash forward, scrambling out of the damaged suit and dashing forward. A rope of dark energy appeared and shot forward, wrapping round the man's feet and tightening, tripping him up and sending him sprawling. Adam cried out as his burnt cheek scraped across the road, bits of grit cutting into the tender skin. Raven kept the chain of energy wrapped round his feet until Robin had handcuffed the criminal.

Robin yanked him to his feet, grabbing Adam's arm to make sure he didn't try to run again. "Who built your suit?"

"I did, stupid." The man replied quickly, and proudly.

Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven gathered round them ready for the routine questioning Robin had put into place a few months ago, in hopes of being able to shut down Jump's criminals' contacts. The leader of the titans was hoping to cut down the rate of crime in the city by shutting down any 'helpful' contacts the city's criminals had. Theoretically without their contacts criminals would find it harder to carry out business, which would make the Titans' job easier.

Cyborg frowned at Adam. "There's no way you can afford the tech for that suit. Who gave it to you."

"No one gave it to me."

"Well you certainly didn't buy it."

"Just throw me in jail all ready. I'm not givin' you any of my contacts."

"Tell us who you're associating with." Robin demanded, and the man spat at him. The Titan motioned towards the empath. "We can always get Raven to tell us."

He glanced warily at the dark titan. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I go into your head and force the information out of you." She answered.

"You can't do that." Adam said, though he didn't sound confident.

"Want me to prove it?"

"I bought it, okay?"

"From who?" Robin asked.

"X."

"The point of you not being able to afford it still stands." Cyborg pointed out. "How did you pay for it?"

"That's none of your – "

"Raven, if you could." Robin started to let go of the criminal, who's face instantly turned several shades paler, making the burn stand out more.

Words flew from Adam's mouth so quick they only just caught them. "Instalments! I'm paying in instalments. Just keep the witch away from me!"

Cyborg noticed the tight lipped smile his best friend was wearing in an attempt to smother his laughter, and had to hide a smile himself. They hadn't actually resorted to Raven using her telepathy so far, and weren't really planning it, however the threat was still working.

"Paying how? Cash?"

"Yeah. Cash. So much every month."

"When were you next supposed to meet up with him?"

"Next week. Friday, by the docks."

"What time?"

"10pm."

Robin nodded. "Raven, get Adonis to the police station. Tell them we want no media coverage, or announcement of his capture until after next Friday. Cyborg, go round and see if there are any reporters in the nearby area. If they've seen anything of this fight, tell them not to publish or write up anything. I don't care what reason you give them. Raven, I'll meet you at the police station."

The empath nodded, before moving next to Adam and wrapping him up in dark energy, disappearing through the floor with him, Cyborg turning off with Starfire and Beast Boy to help him, while Robin moved over to his R-Cycle.

* * *

**Please Read! **(Information for readers of my other stories)

As of this update, I will be discontinuing and re-writing all incompletestories ACCEPT FOR THIS ONE. Please find my reasons for my decision on my profile page, and please email me if you want a better explanation than the one there. Thanks :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews:**

**Maddielove95: **I love this soooooooo much... It's def going on my faves and follow list!

_Glad you do!_

**MyAngelsHalo: **Yay! New chapter! I can't wait until they meet again. I hope this turns into a long story.

_I hope this turns into a long story too._

**Discb: **Mkay, sounds like fun. How's Aussie treating you? Always wanted to go there.

_Aussie's treating me good. Mostly. I am enjoying it, but at the same time I'm kinda missing the English weather, floods and all. _

**Concolor44: **Regarding Part I: I don't see Robin as normally that conflicted over his identity. But then, Batman never asked that of him before, did he? And you gotta love Raven's answers (non-answers?).  
Regarding Part II: A judicious use of the rumors that abound concerning Raven seems to be an effective weapon. I like that. Seeing Red-X in the installment-loan business was a surprise, though. How does he have enough cash on hand himself to float loans to other criminals ... especially given that a lot of them (his loan to Adonis being an example) are going to be defaulted?  
Regarding your A/N: I understand. Completely.

_He never did. I think he actually became Nightwing in the comics before the introduction of Jason… Wouldn't no though, I haven't got any of those Batman comics. He doesn't pass on loans so much as 'sell' stolen materials he 'finds', he just lets them pay him back in instalment. As you might see this chapter. _

**The-Lithe: **A-mazing story so far! I love the interactions between the characters. Please update soon, I am very impatient lol

_Glad you like it!_

**Guest: **:except not accept

_Let me guess, typo in my author's note? Yeah, my Beta Concolor44 doesn't go through them._

**Guest: **Awesoome. Update soon!

_Glad you like :)_

**desireewu2001: **wow! good job! i haven't read a good RaexRed X story in a long time!

_Glad you like, and I hope you continue to._

* * *

The tracker having worked like a charm, Red X had spent the last few nights scouting the edge of the property he'd been led to, trying to get an idea on who and what his target was, and what kind of organisation he was dealing with. He knew they had money, for one thing. The building – what appeared to be an old factory of some sort – had a 'sold' sign out on the front gates. The perimeters had a well maintained and secure fence that would keep out any opportunistic thieves or daring teenagers, and there was no shortage of men entering and leaving the building. Getting in would have been easy enough, had it not been for the man sat in the main security hut, checking the ID of everyone who entered the building.

Of course such a small gesture of security wasn't too big an issue for Red X. It was what they were possibly hiding inside that made him wary.

Moving from his perch on the roof of the building next door, he climbed up the tall industrial chimney, getting comfortable just as someone exited the building and made his way into the main guard hut. Knowing he only had a max of three minutes before they changed shifts and the current guard would move to enter the building, Red X quickly tapped the co-ordinates into his suit and leapt off the chimney before pushing the 'X' on his belt buckle, firing up the suit's xenothium core and making it across the small distance unseen.

He reappeared inches from the factory door and quickly ducked inside, placing his back against the wall alongside the door as he surveyed the corridor in front of him. He needed somewhere he could gain access to the rest of the building unseen, and that meant the main corridor was _way _out. Hearing the door open next to him, Red X cringed and tried to make himself as flat against the wall as he could, ignoring the small voice that told him to take out the man now, before he was seen.

The man moved forward, letting the door swing shut behind him by itself. The thief let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when he realised the man hadn't seen him. Smiling slightly and making a small toast to the man's obliviousness, he went back to searching for his route through the building, his eyes landing on a very convenient air vent half way up the wall next to him.

The cover quickly dropped down thanks to the assistance of an adhesive string of red material that vaguely resembled an 'X'. Red X caught the vent cover so it didn't make any noise, before carefully placing it on the floor in the corner, out of immediate notice. He checked the corridor once more before walking backwards until he was against the opposite wall. Once there, he ran forward and jumped, catching the edge of the vent with his right hand.

He pulled himself up and quietly started crawling, taking every corner he thought would lead him deeper into the building, pausing at every vent cover in the hopes he might overhear something of interest.

Red X had been crawling for almost fifteen minutes when he leaned over the hundredth or so vent cover and overheard something he could use to help him find out who he was up against.

Someone laughed, and there was the sound of wood breaking. Red X tried to see between the slats in the vent cover, but saw nothing more than lines of colour; red, silver, grey and pale brown.

"Did you hear about what happened to Anthony?"

The anti-hero's brow furrowed as he leaned back, trying to remove the cover, only to find it securely in place.

"What happened? All I've heard is the boss ain't happy with him."

"Got himself caught, didn't he? By someone else who had their eye on these crates. As if that wasn't enough, apparently he came back here with a tracker on him!"

Red X smiled to himself as he looked up the vent, eyes searching for another cover that might prove easier to remove.

"Shit."

"Yeah. I'd say he's gonna be the first one in here once it's built, and the guy who stuck the tracker on him second."

"Aren't they worried about 'im turning up?"

"All us against one guy? He'd be stupid, or suicidal, to even try. An' whatever weapon he uses, Anthony says it ain't a firearm."

"What if he's working for her? The boss said if her or her friends find out we're here, we'll be heading for the same path as Blood."

Red X's eyes narrowed as he stilled, one question on his mind. '_Who's 'her'?'_

"She ain't gonna find out; not until it's too late anyway."

"But this guy-"

"A local criminal. Not the sort to share tales with her."

Back in the air vents, the thief decided to take the risk of being seen, sticking a stretchy, putty-like 'X' on one side of the grilled cover, overhanging onto the vent tunnel itself, before he placed one foot on the cover and slowly added his weight, wincing every time the metal dented and made a noise.

"How do we know she don't hang out with the local criminals in her free time?"

"For starters, she ain't stupid enough to give someone an opportunity to rat her out. I'm sure the press would eat that up."

There was the sound of another crate being cracked open, and Red X used the noise for cover as he kicked down, the metal warping until the screws could no longer hold it in place, only the sticky red 'X' stopping the cover from falling off completely.

Red X took in as much of the room as he could. They had knocked down a few walls to create a larger space, judging from the broken bricks littering the floor. They'd also removed a large chunk of flooring and the foundations underneath, and someone had been digging, a large crater of raw earth sitting in the middle of the room. He saw the crates next, stacked against the far wall, and then the two men who he'd been listening to, both dressed in some sort of dark green uniform, semi-automatics swinging on straps over their shoulders. Inside the crates sat large sheets of steel, and within seconds Red X had mentally listed several local criminals that would have bought a couple of sheets off him had he gotten to the crates first.

"So what's he tellin' all these hired guns anyway?" One of the men asked as they moved to open another crate.

"Hell knows. That it's need to know, and they don't. No doubt a lot of them will end up in the pit shortly after it's built. Need to start the pool somehow."

Red X frowned to himself as he tried to figure out what in hell the men were talking about.

"It won't be enough; it'll just clot and dry on the bottom." The other man answered the thief's question, and he felt himself take a nauseous turn. "I don't see why we can't just kick Blood out'a the place in Gotham and use the one there. That's been going for centuries."

"Do you even know how heavily guarded that place is? And not just by the church either. No." The man shook his head. "Maybe after the rise of our true leader, but not before."

One of the men shrugged, moving over to the next crate, saying something, but Red X barely heard him, a red flag having gone up at the mention of Gotham. He racked his brain trying to think of something, anything, about this Blood character, certain he should have come across someone like that, or a pit like that during the time he spent in that city. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back onto the men, frowning unhappily as he realised they'd changed the conversation to last week's cricket match.

He was eighty percent sure the 'her' they had talked about referred to one of the female titans. After all, one of them had made it clear that she – whoever she was – wouldn't be caught dead socialising with criminals. If he could just figure out who Blood was, he might have his clue to which Titan they'd been talking about, AND what kind of thing he might be dealing with. But that would require access to a database like the one in Titan's Tower. He nodded to himself, happy he'd made a good start before he awkwardly turned in the small tunnel and made his way back. He wouldn't collect any more information from those two workers now, and he had an appointment to keep anyway.

* * *

The figure slumped slightly against the wall behind him as he stopped trying to fight against the smoky restraints that kept his hands bound by his side, his feet to the ground and his tongue stilled, barely noticeable in the light given off by the half moon. Four shadows waited patiently from their positions on surrounding rooftops as a green bat – grey and black in the lack of light – circled the building endlessly, its movements almost too fast to follow.

The seventh man to join their company strode confidently out of the alleyway towards Adonis, oblivious to the shadows around them.

"Good; you're here. Though the lack of suit doesn't bode well. You better have my money, or you know how this goes, Adam. I can take exactly what I need from your current apartment, and don't think I don't know where you live."

Red X frowned as he finally saw Adam's eyes, wide as saucers as they kept flickering to look at something above the thief's right shoulder, as though he was trying to warn him of something.

The dark, smoky tendril appeared literally from thin air, and Red X only just managed to avoid it by falling to the ground as fast as he could and rolling out of reach. He'd started to push himself to his feet when the second black rope grabbed him by the ankle, hoisting him up into the air. The anti-hero cursed as Robin's boots landed within his eyesight, shouting out to the empath who was yet to show herself.

"Come on, Sunshine. This is hardly fair."

"_Consider it payback._"

Red X flinched; he hadn't heard her voice with his ears.

"You're under arrest for aiding known criminals and, if we can prove it, the selling of stolen items. You will also be called to pay time for your list of past offences." Robin told him.

Red X strained his neck to see the leader of the titans smile as he reached for the set of handcuffs hanging from his utility belt. "You know, this would have probably been your quickest arrest yet." Red X started, watching Robin's smile falter. "Had you thought to restrain my hands first."

The xenothium powered 'X' took Robin by surprise, turning into a net milliseconds before it reached the hero, knocking him off his feet and securing itself to the ground. Beast Boy was there next, running towards the thief and leaping, transforming into a boa constrictor as he moved through the air towards him, but another 'X' took him out, this one carrying him back until he stuck to the wall next to Adonis, the changeling just managing to shift back into his human form before the unforgiving material took too much of a hold.

Red X heard the heavy footsteps of Cyborg rushing towards him from behind, and tensed the muscles in his trapped leg before using his stomach muscles to get himself into a sitting position. Cyborg closed his arms around where the anti-hero should have been, grabbing nothing but air. Red X's hands shot down and two small 'X's attached themselves to Cyborg's back before sending a current though him, temporarily putting him down.

The thief was suddenly moving as the restraint around his ankle threw him to the side and back again, disorienting him slightly.

"I'm actually pretty happy I ran into you guys. I've got a little problem myself. Any chance I can borrow that fancy computer of yours?"

"Starfire, help Raven restrain Red X!" Robin ordered, his eyes fixed somewhere behind the thief.

"What's up Sunshine? Got more men than you can handle?" Red X taunted, cringing when the rope of dark energy around his ankle tightened, almost cutting off the blood circulation to his foot.

"Secure Adonis, then free Robin and Beast Boy. I can deal with Red X."

Starfire looked between her leader and Raven, trying to decide the best course of action before flying over to where Robin was trapped, reaching through the net for the handcuffs. Red X tried to throw some sort of 'X' at her, but Raven blocked it with a shield of dark energy, the projectile landing harmlessly on the ground. The dark energy dissipated, before the rope holding his ankle began to grow, twisting round his leg, until it reached his hips, moving to cover the teleportation device on his waist.

"Can't you at least _attempt _to make it seem like I have a chance?" The thief complained, helplessly watching Starfire cuff Adonis onto the drainpipe running down the wall.

As the dark energy disappeared from Adam, the frostbitten rope started to extend again, up his torso. He attempted to rip it away with his hands, his mind trying to figure out how to get Raven to move within his sight. He couldn't disrupt her concentration if he couldn't see her.

"I never took you for a coward Raven. You finally admitted you'll never be able to best me in a fair fight?"

Adonis secured, Starfire moved back to Robin, blasting one of the hooks holding the net to the ground with a starbolt, shattering the metal and freeing one corner of the net.

"Nice try, but I'm not so unsure of myself that I feel the need to prove otherwise." The obsidian rope reached his collar bone and split in two, working its way over his shoulders and slowly down his arms, pulling his arms in close to his side.

"Next time I'll leave you stuck on the wall." Red X muttered quietly, not sure if Raven could hear him or not, but certain no one else had.

A frown worked its way onto the empath's face and she took a hesitant step forward, out of the shadows she'd hidden herself since coming down from the rooftop. "_Fine. But then I owe you nothing."_She could feel Red X's slow smile, even though she couldn't see it. "_But don't think I'm going to make it easy for you. If you can't hit me before your hands are fully bound, too bad._"

She walked further out and over to Robin, ignoring Red X as she helped Starfire pull two of the net's pegs out of the ground. She saw the first 'X' travelling towards her and side stepped it, turning to grin smugly at the thief when the second one, having been fired moments after the first, hit her face, covering her eyes. Her surprise snapped the rope of dark energy, and she heard the sound Red X made as he hit the floor. Starfire cried out a moment later. Raven tried to peel the 'X' from her face, hearing Robin shout at the anti-hero as he scrambled out from under the net and onto his feet. She heard him take off after the thief, leaving Starfire, Beast Boy and herself to try and free themselves.

"Yo, Raven. A little help?" Beast Boy called out, and she turned to the sound of his voice, irritated and pointing at what she thought to be the 'X' covering her eyes.

"I would, could I but _see _you."

"I'll direct you. Come on; like ten steps forward."

Raven tried to frown and sighed before taking ten hesitant steps forward, her hands held out in front of her, warding off any objects that might have been there for her to walk into.

"Great! Now take another ten. No, eleven." Beast Boy watched her shuffle forward. "Now, the thing starts a few inches from your right and stops a few inches from your left. Use your powers to-"

"Accidently skin you while I attempt to free you?" She deadpanned, "Please just _try _to think."

Raven slowly walked forward, hands still in front of her, cringing when her fingers brushed the wall, thankful it hadn't been the changeling. She felt along until her hands found the strange, smooth texture of the 'X', following it down to one point before trying to pry it free from the wall, thanking Azar when the point peeled back, making it easier for her to get a grip and pull, letting her dark energy leak down her arms and over the material, pulling back with her mind, the strength of her energy working better than the strength of her arms would have.

"Yeah! Go Raven!"

After the first couple of inches, the material eased away from the wall, and Raven stopped pulling as she heard her team mate hit the ground.

"_Umph!"_

"Great, now how about you move this from my eyes." She stood waiting, her hands on her hips.

"Maybe I should help Starfire then let her do this. Or I could reset Cyborg and he could do it. It's gonna hurt."

"I _know _it's going to hurt." Raven rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it. "And I am not waiting. Just rip it off – I won't let my powers lash out at you." She could feel his scepticism and sighed before adding. "Promise."

"Well … okay."

She heard him move towards her, cringing when she felt his hand on her face, gripping the edge of the 'X' that rested on her cheek, holding in her breath.

"Okay. 3… 2… 1!" He yanked back, Raven holding in a yelp as the material tried to stick to her skin, almost feeling like it was ripping her face off. She heard something explode, but it hadn't been Garfield.

She kept her eyes shut a few seconds after the 'X' had been removed, before opening them and looking at Beast Boy. "Ow." She touched the tender skin around her eyes.

"Come on, let's help Star and Cy, then find Robin. Hopefully he's caught up with X."


	4. Chapter 4

**Reviews****:**

**Dawsen:** I didn't take raven to be the reciprocating type, but maybe there is another reason she let red x go?

_I think more than anything, she doesn't want to owe anything to X that he could try and bring up at a later point in an attempt to get her to do something. Better to pay off all debts straight away, right?_

**Concolor44: **This little trade-off thing that Raven and Red X have going could very quickly escalate into something that neither of them might be able to handle ... from more than one perspective. And if Robin finds out she's pulling her punches ... hmmm.  
The Church of Blood. Egad, but I hate those guys. I predict that Red X will soon come to hate them, too.  
Beautiful work, as always!

_Hmm, it could. And yeah, I don't think Robin would be impressed. _

**Lanamere: **This is really good, regarding the whole Batman asking him to pass on his mantle, are we maybe, hopefully going to see Jason Todd in this? That would be interesting

_Glad you think so. *smirk* I'm not telling you who we're going to be seeing in the future:P_

**Discb: **Summoning Trigon or making Raven go demonic... Hm...  
Glad to know Aussie's treating you well.

_Maybe…. Or maybe not. I like to think my plots aren't quite so easy to read._

**Sunshine-Midnight123: **It makes perfect sense to me that Red X is in this certain business. I assume Raven is Blood because of the two guards mentioning of that other facility in Gotham guarded by more than just the church as well as other reasons as to why I think Raven may be Blood. I love how Red X was able to escape and enjoyed reading Red X in his stealth mode in that building.

_A good guess, but not quite – though I could imagine Raven setting up her own protection to keep people away from the Church in Gotham. Anyway, glad you're enjoying._

**Maddielove95: **This is really cool. It would be nice though, to add one of those "what happened before the chapter" thingies though. I hope you update soon. :)

_Glad you liked. Not sure what you mean by that though. _

* * *

**THE NEXT MORNING…**

"How did he even know that would take me out? The specific current needed to-"

"I created them, when I created the suit." Robin spoke up from his place in front of the crime scanner, where he was trying to find signs of Red X. "I just didn't use them – didn't need to. If I could hack into your main systems, I didn't need or _want _to take out several of your minor functions."

"Is this meant to make me feel better?" Cyborg scowled from where he sat, his internal scanner running a final diagnostic of his body, checking the repair work he, Raven and Beast Boy had attempted last night. The easy part had been turning him back on. The hard part was removing and replacing all the circuits that had fried from the extra current forced through him, but with Raven's sharp mind and nimble fingers, and Beast Boy's will to help his best friend, they had managed it under Cyborg's guidance. "Because it isn't."

"Look on the bright side – at least Adonis didn't escape." Beast Boy forced a smile. "And we know to get his hands bound first next time."

"Still not helping." Cyborg muttered.

"It is not the first time Red X has escaped us," Starfire reminded them, "nor will it be the last. We were expecting this, or should have been. Do not take it so harshly on yourselves. With each defeat we learn something new about him and his abilities."

"And so does he." Robin replied.

"That's nice and all Star, but I think we'll let you explain this one to the commissioner. I mean, we paid the media off, and dragged Adonis out of his cell for what? To lose one criminal and put the other in a situation he could have potentially escaped from." Cyborg's sensors bleeped at him and he read the report on the little screen built into his right arm. "I'm all fixed up." He looked at Beast Boy and Raven. "Thanks guys."

"At least we have proof Red X is aiding other criminals." Starfire shrugged. "If we could just find out where the items are coming from we could also prove them to be stolen. Surely that is worth something?"

Robin turned round to look at his team, his eyes landing on Raven, sat on the sofa. "You're very quiet."

"I have nothing useful to say." She replied. "Nothing can be done about it until our next encounter with him, no matter how much we discuss what happened. In truth, we learned nothing new about Red X other than the fact he has the weapons to disable Cyborg without even touching him."

"Then let's talk about how we plan on getting him next time. We _know _he's not gonna risk meeting up with a 'client' like that again," the changeling pointed out.

"So we figure out where these items he's been selling are coming from and keep an eye on where it is." Robin said after a moment's thought. "And we might catch him. We know it's not from any of the stores hooked up to our alarm system, or we would have heard about it, so what does that leave?"

"Just about nowhere in Jump City." Cyborg answered. "At least it narrows it down a lot. We have two factories on the outskirts that deal with wood – one makes paper, the other furniture, not something I can see him being interested in. That's it. All the businesses in town, and anyone who could lose a lot of money from a robbery, are all linked up to our alarm system."

"Then we'll have to find out the locations and names of nearby factories, shops, storage companies … I'll look into it after I've been to the police station and see if any business has reported a break in."

"Me and BB will take a drive – stop wherever we can think of and ask around." Cyborg announced, receiving a nod of approval from their leader.

"Starfire, Raven, take some time off. I want you to run tonight's patrol, focusing on the areas around the docks." Robin ordered.

* * *

Starfire entered the common room, the sound of the door closing the only noise to mark her presence. She watched her teammate and friend for a moment as she levitated in front of the large windows overlooking the bay before deciding the meditating Titan had either chosen to ignore her presence or hadn't noticed her enter the room.

"Since Robin has given us the rest of our day off until our patrol, I declare we spend some time 'bonding' down at the shopping mall." The alien announced loudly.

Raven didn't reply straight away, finishing the chant of her mantra before she turned to face Starfire and opened her eyes. "Robin gave us time off so we might rest and prepare for the upcoming patrol. Not so we could go shopping."

The princess smiled. "Robin did not specify what we do with our time. Besides, we Tamaranians are most hard to wear out, and you have _no _excuse for not coming, needing less rest than myself in an average week. A few hours in the mall will not affect how we perform tonight."

The empath's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to give up are you?"

"We could visit your favourite bookstore, and get lunch at the nice café three shops down from the pet store." Starfire tried her best to make it sound enticing.

Raven rolled her eyes as she unfolded her legs from beneath her and landed on the floor. "Give me five minutes to change into something more suitable." She started to move for the doors. "But you can tell Robin where we were and _why _we were there if he gets back to the tower before we do."

"Of course. I am sure he will be fine with it."

"More like he just doesn't know how to tell you no." Raven muttered.

* * *

"Robin said he had approached you about the dilemma of his identity." Starfire told the empath as they walked through the mall.

Raven nodded. "He asked me what I thought he should do. I take it he asked you the same?"

"He did. I told him I am not in any position to tell him how he should handle this, just like he told me to do what _I _thought was best back on Tamaran."

Raven smirked. "I bet that wasn't the answer he was looking for."

"It seemed it was not. And now I am wondering if it was the wrong answer."

"It wasn't," she told the alien. "Batman and Robin need to sort this out between them. Family matters are rarely improved by other people getting involved." Seeing Starfire's expression, Raven quickly added, "_Rarely_. Do not even _think _of using my father and me as an example. Batman is not trying to destroy the world through Robin, just trying to get Robin to pass on the alias so he can hand it down to his new sidekick."

"It might as well be destroying Robin's world." Starfire argued. "He has been Robin-"

"For most of his life thus far, I know."

"I … just feel that I should be able to do more to _help _him. He is obviously stressed by the decision Batman is forcing upon him."

"You'll support him in whatever he chooses, won't you?" Raven asked, and Starfire nodded.

"Of course!"

"Then you can do no more."

"… I suppose." Starfire admitted slowly. Looking up, she spotted one of her favourite stores and pointed it out to her teammate. "I wish to go in there. The clothes are most pretty."

Raven glanced down at the many bags Starfire was already holding. "Go ahead. I think I'll wait out here."

"You are sure?"

"Certain." She quickly nodded.

"I will not take too long." Starfire told her before rushing off, missing Raven's sarcastic comment of, "_Sure _you won't."

Moving to lean against the strip of wall next to the doors of the shop, Raven tugged up the hood of her black jacket to hide her hair, slightly more self-conscious now she wasn't stood beside a woman with orange skin and flame red hair. Her civilian outfit of faded grey jeans, black heelless boots and a black tank-top served only to mark her as off duty. The only Titan who could actually blend into a crowd should he want to was Robin. Being a Saturday, the mall was almost overflowing with teenagers hanging out with friends and people doing their general shopping before the week of work began. Raven hated going to the mall during the weekend.

Her preferred time was during the weekdays, before the school had finished for the day. It meant fewer people to watch, because even though she was 'off duty' she still had a job to do as a superhero. It also meant less staring and harassment from fans. Not that she had many, compared to the other members of the team.

She watched the crowd pass back and forth as she waited for Starfire, only briefly tearing her eyes away to watch a young man walk over and lean against the wall next to her, a flat-billed cap, identical to what so many other teenagers and men in their twenties had suddenly started wearing, pulled low over his face to his eyes. She looked back at the stream of people in front of her, dismissing him.

The man waited a moment, before saying, "I need some information I think you might have."

Raven turned to look at him, making sure there was no one else he could have been talking to before asking, "Excuse me?"

He kept his head down, and Raven could only just see his smile. "You're a little slow today, aren't you Sunshine?" The Titan tensed, and the man quickly added, "Chill. I'm not here to start a fight. Or steal anything. I just want some info."

Raven crossed her arms as she ignored the urge to try and get a better look at his face, not quite sure why she didn't. "You know Starfire's with me, right? You wouldn't stand a chance without your suit."

"I know."

"The warrant for your arrest is still active."

"It's active for another ten years."

She frowned. "Then what are you doing here?"

"How is the name 'Blood', a church, and a …_pit _of some sort related." He didn't see Raven's expression falter. "I'm gathering Blood is in the criminal circuit somewhere, so I thought you might be my best bet for getting some info."

"_What_?" Raven asked, not having processed his last sentence.

"You heard me. And from that tone of voice, I'm guessing you know somethin'. Answer my question and I'll let you get on with the rest of your day."

"Why do you need to know?"

"Just answer the question Sunshine."

"You're in no position to tell me to do anything." Raven glared at him, the effect somewhat lost by the fact she didn't have eye contact.

"I don't have any 'leader' to get into trouble with for helping you out the other night. You do."

"Are you blackmailing me?"

"Maybe."

"Who gave you the name?" Raven asked.

"Why is that important?"

"Because it is."

He sighed. "No one 'gave' it to me. I overheard some scumbags talking who'd … acquired something I had my eye on."

"He was the leader of H.I.V.E Academy – their headmaster – before we shut them down."

"Great. Now what church is he related to?"

"Why do you need to know?"

The man tried to hide how frustrated he was getting with the Titan. "Help me out here, Sunshine. I might be saving your city from a very grizzly end."

An alarm bell went off in Raven's head, but she tried to ignore it for the moment. "Why do you need to know?"

"It'll help give me some idea as to who the hell the scumbags who took my stuff are."

"It wasn't 'your stuff'. It's the property of whoever you were planning to steal from."

"Come on; I answered your questions. Now answer mine."

"If it's so important, why didn't you drop the police an anonymous tip? Why come to me?"

"Because they made it personal when they took the stuff I was gonna take. And they seem to be packing a hell of a lot of fire power – wouldn't want to send a few police officers to their deaths."

"Then talk to Robin."

"Raven. Answer my question."

The empath could count on one hand the number of times Red X had called her by name. "Sebastian Blood, known to most as Brother Blood, is the last to inherit leadership of the Church of Blood. To my knowledge he has no children to continue the line." The thief noted she sounded rather happy about that. "Google the rest."

"The Church of Blood?" The man's amusement was clear in his voice. "At least that explains the pit they were talking about."

Raven's eyes narrowed with suspicion and the beginnings of worry. "What else did they say? Who are these people, and where are they based?"

"Your first and last question is for me to know. Not you. As for the second … that's exactly what I'm trying to find out." He pushed off from the wall. "See you around, Sunshine."

The empath had started to move after the man when she caught Starfire leaving the store out of the corner of her eye. She changed direction, hiding her frown under a small smile.

"Buy anything?" Even she thought the question sounded forced, but Starfire took no notice, used to the lack of patience and interest Raven had with shopping.

"A lovely dress in pale violet, and a pair of jeans I found in their 'for sale' rack. I saw a few items you might-"

"That's all right – I'm saving money for a particular book." Raven quickly cut her off.

"Perhaps we could go into the book store and you could show it to me?"

"It's not in Jump City." Raven told her as they began walking, her mind only half focusing on Starfire's questions. "It's not even in America. I'll gladly show it to you once I've bought it, however."

"It is another spell book?"

"Not quite." Raven smiled. "Though it does contain a few, throughout the chapters."

"You have seen this book?" Starfire frowned.

"Of course. I wouldn't buy it without first checking it's authentic."

"While I do love the convenience of my speed of flight, it must be nice to be able to travel so far with such ease."

"I had some help. Besides, I wouldn't call navigating through inter-dimensional lines of travel _easy_."

"Please, these lines you speak of are …?"

"Closely related to ley lines, though much greater in number. They're a necessity for long-distance teleportation, though inconsequential when I'm teleporting somewhere within my sight or to a place that is extremely familiar to me."

"Why does being able to see a place change that?" Starfire frowned, truly interested.

"My powers are all about altering the fabric of our reality, being the freak of nature that I am."

"Raven, you must not say such things!" Starfire interrupted in protest. "You are many things, but you are not a freak."

"The point remains that my existence threatens the equilibrium established by natural order. My abilities are, at root, a form of chaos. The lines of inter-dimensional travel will always be accessible to those well practiced in the arts of magic, and those naturally gifted with teleportation can accesses them a lot easier than practitioners. However if I can see the desired location, or if I can imagine it in great detail – something that is rarely worth risking – I can teleport there, regardless of whether lines of inter-dimensional travel run through it or not. It is a matter of will, and while it is sometimes easier than long distance travel, it can also be harder. If I lost my goal from my thoughts, I could end up anywhere."

"Like the time you dropped us all into the bay around Titans Tower." Starfire grinned, and Raven blushed slightly, still embarrassed by the memory.

"Yes. Exactly like that."

"And imagining your location?"

"The only locations to which I do that regularly are rooms around the Tower. I might attempt it during an emergency, but I try not to make a habit out of it."

"During those few hours stuck in each other's bodies during our first year of being Titans, teleportation was one of the things you _did not _teach me."

"It's harder than it looks. The first time I teleported I travelled a foot. I was three, I believe. It took me another year to learn how to use and _control _that ability, although I still couldn't move out of a room. And I am still yet to master it."

"Three?" Starfire repeated.

The empath nodded. "My mental growth, including my powers, developed at a rate slightly faster than I believe what you said Tamaranians do."

"Then your powers must have first shown … hours after your birth, as new-borns on my planet can be known to fly – at least hover – on the same day as their birth."

Raven nodded, pulling out her communicator and checking the time on the front panel. "Let's get lunch then head back. Unless there's somewhere else you want to go?"

The alien looked sheepishly at the bags she had in both her hands. "I believe I have 'spent up'."


End file.
